Previously, MENA adaptations were published in JNCCN – Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network as manuscripts and represented recommendations by MENA-NCCN Committee members, in consultation with NCCN faculty, to address regional application of the NCCN Guidelines, specifically focusing on metabolic differences in populations and local accessibility to technology and treatment. The new MENA Editions integrate MENA-NCCN Committee member recommendations directly into the NCCN Guidelines using the standard NCCN regional adaptation format and are available through both NCCN.org and the Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines® app, available for iPhones and Android™ Smartphones.

Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, NCCN, extended his support for the ongoing NCCN/MENA collaboration: “We at NCCN congratulate the MENA Coordinating Center for NCCN Collaborations at the King Abdul-Aziz Medical City in Riyadh, MENA-NCCN Committee members, and the NCCN faculty for their hard work and success in developing the MENA Editions of the NCCN Guidelines. NCCN looks forward to continuing and expanding this collaborative effort to improve the quality and effectiveness of cancer care in the MENA region.”

Essential to the adaptation process is NCCN faculty participation, as all adaptations are developed in consultation with the relevant NCCN Guidelines Panel Chair or Panel Member. NCCN gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the MENA-NCCN Committee members and NCCN faculty involved in the adaptation process, detailed below.

Abdul Rahman Jazieh, MD, MPH, Chairman, Department of Oncology, King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Director of the Coordinating Center for MENA-NCCN Collaboration, stated, “The process of exchange between the experts from the region and U.S.-based NCCN experts is very dynamic and educational with mutual benefits to all those involved, as it gives the chance for in-depth review of the NCCN Guidelines by international experts who serve like external reviewers for these guidelines. At the same time, they get a better understanding of the internal process of NCCN Guidelines development from the U.S. experts.”

NCCN regularly collaborates to create and distribute foreign editions, regional adaptations, and consensus statements of the NCCN Guidelines, which are NCCN Guidelines derivatives and allow for consideration of metabolic differences in populations, local accessibility, and regulatory status of health care technologies used in cancer care in the specified country. An article detailing the regional adaptation process was published in the May issue of JNCCN (JNCCN 2014; 12:643-648).1 For additional information on NCCN International Programs, visit NCCN.org/international.